Research

The Global Change Institute (GCI) draws together research capability from across The University of Queensland, leveraging its impact through UQ’s standing in the top 100 universities in the world.

To increase the institute’s impact, the GCI fosters collaborations at local, national and international levels. This includes working with industry, government, community, private enterprise and research organisations allowing the GCI to deliver innovative solutions to major global challenges.

The global population is expected to exceed nine billion people by 2050. This will lead to an increase in food demand of 70 per cent. GCI’s Food Systems research will focus on meeting the production, access and nutrition needs for our future world under a changing climate.

Oceans cover more than 70 per cent of the earth’s surface and play a crucial role in determining weather, stabilising global temperatures and regulating the gas content of our atmosphere. GCI is coordinating research to protect coastal communities and island nations from the impacts of sea-level rise. GCI is also part of a global partnership with the Catlin Seaview Survey, which has conducted a 360 degree photographic audit of coral reefs worldwide.

The UQ Human Rights Consortium (HRC), located as part of the Global Change Institute, is a transdisciplinary hub that will lead research and engagement in the defense of human rights and Indigenous rights in a climate-constrained world. By creating cross-disciplinary understandings of the ways these rights are mediated by climate change and resource constraint, the HRC will contribute to public debates and policy responses in Australia, and internationally.